When you play at one of the nation's premier high school football programs in Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius, the expectations are the same every year, win a state championship. For senior tight end Blake Thomas that goal became a reality on Saturday night as the Wildcats jumped all over Pickerington Central and cruised to a 34-13 victory in the Division I state championship game.

"It's definitely the best case scenario and how you want to go out," said Thomas. "It's a great feeling to know that we'll all be remembered by the future classes, it's a great way to go out."

The Ohio State commit did an outstanding job blocking for the running backs throughout the game and also got his number called in the passing game with four receptions for 47 yards, including some key third down grabs.

"It's definitely a good feeling to get out there and catch the ball and make an impact on the game like that," Thomas said. "The big thing about this team is that we had a lot of options on offense. We have Tim McVey at running back and he can pound the ball against any defense and we have some of the best receivers in the state. We all did a good job working together."

Though not the most talented of St. Ignatius' 11 state championship teams, Thomas said that those who doubted the talent and ability of this group only fueled the fire.

"We were definitely doubted coming into the season," he said. "I think we really showed people what good teamwork and hard work can do."

For the third time this season, Thomas came out on the winning end of a game against a future teammate. In this case, it was two future teammates in Jacoby Boren and Roger Lewis. Thomas was complimentary of the effort that both players turned in on Saturday night.

"It was cool being able to have something to look forward to," Thomas said of his future teammates. "Those guys are great players so it was exciting to see them making some plays out there. Obviously, we wanted to win so we didn't want them making too many big plays but they did a great job out there."

For a program with a long history of winning state titles, Thomas can now cement his legacy along the other great players that have come through the program and brought home championships.

"As an Ignatius football player, the greatest honor you can have is to be a part of that legacy," he said. "It's obviously a big deal around here, it's a great feeling to be a part of that and to be able to have my name up there with all of those players that have done it in the past."

Thomas committed to Ohio State back in May, just days before former head coach Jim Tressel resigned. Committing to the Buckeyes during such a tumultuous time certainly showed his loyalty to the program and Thomas looks at the latest news regarding Urban Meyer as a reward to those who stuck around.

"Ohio State was the place that I wanted to be," Thomas explained. "This whole Urban Meyer thing has turned out to be a good reward I guess. There was a little bit of uncertainty (regarding the future at Ohio State) at times but I knew that before I committed and it's good to see Urban Meyer coming in, people are really fired up about this."

Thomas got to speak with his future head coach this past week.

"I talked to him briefly a couple of days ago," Thomas said. "He just said that he's excited about our class and the things that we can do. He's excited to have me coming and the other guys as well."